Senior Correspondent

The Abbott government is being urged to appoint a new special envoy to closely monitor Middle East turmoil for a new generation of terrorist threats.

Syria is a special concern, with up to 150 Australians suspected to have joined record numbers of foreign fighters flocking to the conflict.

But a new report warns that wider tensions in Egypt and sectarian clashes elsewhere in the region have created an "incubator" for terrorism of a kind not seen since before the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The bleak outlook in the report, to be released on Monday by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute for International Policy, is in stark contrast to enthusiasm three years ago for the so-called Arab Spring.

Advertisement

The author, Anthony Bubalo, a former intelligence analyst and diplomat, said Australia could not afford to be "blindsided" by the Middle East despite its new emphasis on Asia.

A record 7000 foreign fighters from 50 countries are suspected to have joined the war in Syria – almost twice the number that ever fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s when Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda was founded.

The US has warned that foreign fighters in Syria are learning bomb making and training to take the battle up at home – a fear also expressed after the invasion of Iraq but largely yet to eventuate.

Beyond Australians, Indonesians have also joined the Syrian conflict provoking fears of a resurgence of groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah, responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings.

Terrorism remains a top concern for Australians, with almost two-thirds ranking it a critical threat, according to a new poll included in the report.

Mr Bubalo said the report was not alarmist and real progress had been made in the past decade to diminish the terrorist threat, but the pool of recruits was refilling. He said foreign fighters found it easier to get to Syria than earlier wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On Egypt, he said the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in recent months echoed past violence of Islamists such as al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Mr Bubalo recommended Australia appoint a special envoy or single diplomatic co-ordinator for the Middle East to open doors to talk with senior leaders – especially as the withdrawal of Australian troops from the region made visits by ministers less frequent.